The Rangers currently have five defensemen under the age of
28 on their roster and two more top prospects on the way, so it’s very likely
New York will be looking to add some offensive firepower with its first-round
pick, No. 15 overall in the NHL Draft.

Between now and June 24th, we’ll take a look at some of the
forwards that the Rangers might be thinking about taking on draft
day. Today, we look at…

THN – “There are scouts who believe that, from a physical
standpoint, Saad is ready to jump to the NHL next season. His game
is raw and could use seasoning, but scouts like what they see. ‘He’s
a horse,’ one said. ‘He’s man-strong and he’s smart.’ And
while he put up respectable totals this season, he didn’t do as much as some
people would have liked. Expectations ran high for Saad when he
chose the OHL over the college route after coming from
the U.S. national development program. He scored 20 goals in the
first half and just seven the rest of the way. ‘I don’t think he’s
had the type of year that people expected,’ another scout said. ‘A
lot of people expected him to walk into the OHL and get 50
goals. That’s how good he looked the past two years. I
don’t know what it was, but he didn’t meet expectations.’ Scouts do
like how strong he is on the puck and how responsible he is in all zones.”

The
Scouting Report – "Suffice to say, TSR’s thoughts on Saad have plummeted as the
2010/2011 season progressed. We had very high expectations for Saad this year;
his first in the OHL, but have never seen the type of game that warrants the
pre-season hype. Saad is a big winger with good speed, a hard shot, and a
fairly good head for the game, but he lacks the drive you need to be a top line
player at the next level. Saad shies away from contact despite being a big
player and never really uses his body to his advantage. He doesn’t drive the
front of the net enough and just isn’t willing to pay the price. All is not
lost with Saad, as he does have goal scoring talent, but he needs to show a lot
more if he wants to have that opportunity in the NHL."

Bruins
2011 Draft Watch – “Saad started well, but hit the wall after scoring
20 goals over the first half of the campaign and looking every bit the scoring
winger who could bring offense in bunches with the physical grit and tenacity
every NHL club covets. He finished with 27 markers and 55 points in 59 games
which isn't bad on the surface, but is also woefully short of what people
expected of him. And then there's a concern about his skating. A year ago,
one NHL scout watched him in the U18s and marveled at his mobility and power.
Now, that same scout is decidedly perplexed. ‘I don't know how it
happens, but Saad actually looks like he's gotten slower,’ the scout told
B2011DW recently. ‘He's regressed. I try to give him the benefit of the doubt
and all, but that's what I saw this year and it's definitely not a good
thing.’ Red Line scouts shared that NHL evaluator's opinion, putting
Saad in the ‘Falling’ category: ‘Only four goals in his final 22 regular season
games and mediocre in the first playoff round. Oddly, his skating seems to have
regressed.’ Regressed. The same word from two different
sources. And in scouting circles, that is what you call a red
flag. We've also heard that he wasn't in a very good situation at
Saginaw, though nobody we spoke to was comfortable enough even going on the
record to talk about the Spirit and what Saad may have been dealing with. If
the rumors/hearsay are true, you can understand the detrimental effect such
distractions may have had on his production and overall play. How much of an
excuse you can allow that to factor in for the down season, however, is up for
debate. This is what leads us to the final point on Saad. There is
no questioning that he's shown some extremely high upside in the past. The team
who thinks he's closer to that player and not the one who appeared to be
sleepwalking through the final quarter of the season and playoffs is the one
that will spend a first-round pick on Saad, likely a top-20. At some point, the
potential reward and value of taking Saad, pretty much seen as a consensus
top-five coming into the season is going to outweigh any of the concerns about
what has gone on for him this season.”

Corey Pronman - "Brandon Saad is a very projectable big body winger who made
his mark last year with the USA U-18 team but not as much in the OHL this
season. His most appealing tool is his skating ability, as he can reach
above-average straight-line speeds and when combined with his physical assets
makes it very easy to see him in an NHL uniform. His puck skills are decent,
with his contributions in that area coming from good puck protection along the
sideboards in the cycle game and having moderate passing ability, be it from
pushing the puck up or operating from the perimeter on the power play. He leans
into his shots well and has the ability to score goals from mid-distances
although I'm not sure if I ever see the tool being better than above-average if
that. Saad has a good frame and doesn't shy from going to the physical areas of
the ice and his battle effort is notable. Saad's hockey sense is decent and I'm
not swung either way by it. He can excel defensively due to his natural tools
such as on the penalty kill where his skating, aggressiveness and frame help
him pressure puck-carriers and fill lanes effectively. I'm not sure if he has
the upside to project as anything past a second liner and while he has some
development left it's not that hard to see him in that slot within a handful of
years."

True
Hockey – “The 6-foot-2 winger is described as a truculent power
forward that plays a responsible two way game and excels with the puck in tight
areas. He is a strong skater with long strides and uses his speed to cut wide
on opposing defenseman and drive hard to the net. He is also very physical and
is known to rough up the opposition in an effort to get the puck to the net.
Scouts are most impressed with his frame and ability to step right into the NHL
next season. He is more physically developed than many of the other forwards in
his draft class, which might prompt a team to take him over another player who
may take several years to develop.”

ESPN.com –
“Saad was No. 2 in the OHL preliminary rankings, No. 8 in CSS midterm rankings
of North American skaters and No. 19 on the final list. His struggles and
injury have been discussed in this space previously. He had been mentioned in
the same breath as Gabriel Landeskogat the start of the year. One scout's
take: ‘Saginaw was a mess this year. That had to drag him down. But I
think we saw this big, strong, physically mature kid in the Ann Arbor [USA
Hockey program] last season and we thought it was a matter of time before he'd
throw his weight around and just dictate play in the O. It never happened. He
played smaller than he measures. He never seemed to make the transition at all.
Would it have worked out for him someplace else? Maybe. But it was up to him to
make it work out better than it did [in Saginaw].’ Stockwatch: Will
still be around at No. 25 overall, maybe drop out of the first round.”

Jess Rubenstein – “Saad has good size but his stock is
falling because most think he will be a 3rd liner.”

Thoughts: Saad’s tumble down draft boards this season is
alarming. He was widely considered one of the best draft prospects
heading into the season, but now scouting reports make frequent mention of lack
of effort and skating issues. He has an NHL-ready body, but there
are causes for concern with the rest of Saad’s game. If he figures
it out, he could be the steal of the draft. But Saad seems to have
some pretty big bust potential.

The Rangers last used a first-round pick on an OHL player in
2007 when they took Michael Del Zotto. They spent three choices on
OHL players last year. New York may be looking for more of a sure
thing should the Rangers choose to select a power forward as the Hugh Jessiman
disaster is not yet forgotten.